Lock for automobiles



F. STAGGS AND M. REYNOLDS. LOCK FUR AUTOMOBILES.

APPLICATION EILED mmza, i920- 1,4:30',472. v Patented Sept. 26, 1922.

Aim/way.

F. STAGGS AND M. REYNOLDS.

LOOK FOR AUTOMOBILES.

APPLICATION FILED mu.23,1920.

Patented Sept. 26, 1922.

- 2 SHYEETSSHEEI 2. 2% a4 /4 3 29 47 Patented Sept. 26, 1922.

FRED STAGGS AND MARION REYNOLDS, OF SHAMROCK,

TEXAS.

LOCK FOR AUTOMOBILES,

Application filed January 23, 1920. Serial No. 353,630.

To all whom it may concern I Be it known that we, FRED STAGGS and MARIONREYNOLDS, citizens of the United States of America, and residents ofShamrock, in the county of Wheeler and State of Texas, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Locks for Automobiles, of whichthe following is a specification.

This invention relates to looks for automobiles and while it is primarlyfor use in looking the steering rod or shaft of a Ford car, theprinciple of the invention and the structural features thereof may bemade applicable to cars of other types.

against movement, the

The invention is illustrated in connection with a known housing for theplanetary gearing of a Ford car, the said lock being attached to theinternal gear case below the steering wheel.

The object of this invention is to provide novel means for lockingthesteering gear locking device is of the permutation type, requiringmanipula, tion of members to bring them into certain relaton to oneanother beforethe bolt can be operated to release the steering shaft.

A still further object of this inventionis to provide novel means whichguard against manipulating the partsby socalled. feeling the action ofthe bolt with relation to the locking mechanism.

A still further object of this invention 1s to produce a lockofthencharacter indicated which can be readily attached to cars now inuse and which can also be installed on new cars.

With the foregoing and other objects in View, the invention consists inthe details of construction, and in the arrangement and combination ofparts to be hereinafter more fully set forth and claimed." I

In describing the invention in detail, reference will be had to theaccompanying drawingsforming partof this specification wherein likecharacters denote corresponding parts in the several views, and in whichf 1 Figure l is a top plan view of thelo'clrcas ing with the steeringshaft in section;

Figure 2 is a viewvin elevation of the said lock casing and partsassociated therewith;

Figure 3 is adetailed sectional viewlof the lock;

Figure 4 is a sectionalview on the line 44 of Figureg; and.

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the bolt. Referring to the drawings,which illustrate the invention in a preferred form the refer.- encenumeral 10 is applied to the gear case for the planetary gears ofafFordautomoe bilel, such gear case or housing having at ts upperportionexternal screw threads, and

in applying our invention the usual cover for such gear case isdiscarded as we substitute therefor-a cover and base plate 11, that hasa flange 12 Which is provided with internal threads and externalindicia. The .permutaT tion lock mechanism is inclosed between the baseplateand a cover plate 13, such plates being connected and spaced apartso as to be separated, the distance between the plates being aboutthesame as the thickness ofa notched collarthat is rigidly attached tothe stub-shaft 15 to the upper end of which the steering wheel isattachedwhich shaft also carries within the gear casing a pinion that isengaged by planetary pinions of the Ford steering wheel assembly.

The'face plate" 13 has an aperture 14 to receive the stub or short shaft15 the lower end of whichiengages with the steering post and thebaseplate 11 also has an aperture 16 to receive said shaft, the said shaftbeing rotatable'therein. The face plate 13 is securedto the base plateby screws 17 and the said screws also hold a segment or slotted ring18rigid with the two plates. The said ring orseg'm ent 18 has between itsendsva space or opening 19 in which a bolt 20 is slidable radially. Thebolt has a stud 21 projecting through a slot 22 of the face plate andthe saidstud is connected to a lever 23 .which is pivoted on a stud 24on the face plate and the said lever has a handle 25' by which the leveris oscillated to project and retract the bolt as will presently appear.

a The faceplate has a dial 26 on it with relation to which an index orpointer 27 is movable and the said pointer is mounted on the stud 28 ofthe disk 29, the said disk-29 having a, peripheral notch or recess 30forming a seat for the bolt when the parts are set to unlock or releasethe steering shaft, and the said index or pointer also constitutes themeans by which the diskis rotated.

A collar 31 is secured on the short or stub shaft 15 by a fastening suchas av screw 32 and the collar therefore rotates with the shaft and hasperipheral recesses 33 forming seats for the bolt, which bolt enters oneof after,

the seats when the steering shaft is locked.

In addition to the disk 29, which latter prevents the movement of thebolt unless the notch 30 of the disk can be entered by the bolt, weprovide two additional rings 34 and 35, which are slidable one on theother between the two plates. The rings are rotatable about the segment18 and the ring 34: has a lug 36 on it, whereas the ring 35 carries alug 37, the said lugs being on the periphery of the rings. The rings 34cand 35 may be termed the permutation rings. in that each has a notch 38in its inner edge which is adapted to aline with the other and with theseat or recess of the disk 29 and this registry of the recesses mustoccur before the bolt can be moved to unlock the steering shaft.

It will be noted that the permutation rings 34: and 35, each have inaddition to spaces or notches 38 for the reception of the outer end ofthe bolt 20 when in line therewith, are also provided with lugs 36 and37 that project from their outer edges, the lugs being positioned to beengaged by the ends or shoulders of the segmental recesses in the rings39 and 40, provided with combined handles and indicators 47 and 4:8, bywhich the rings 'are'manipulated to position the notches in the rings34; and 35 in line with the notch in the disk 29. The three boltreceiving recesses have to be alined before the bolt can be moved torelease the steering wheel.

As a means for operating the permutation rings, a ring 39 and a ring 40are located between the base plate and the face plate and these ringsare rotatable to some extent independently of the permutation rings.This is accomplished by having the inner edges of the rings 39 and 40recessed or cut, so that they may move independently of the lugs 36 and37, but the cut away portions form shoulders ell and 42 on one ring andshoulders as and 4 1 on the other ring. The shoulders 11 and 12 willengage one of the lugs to move the disk, whereas the shoulders 4-3 andM: will engage the other lug to move its disk, and the relation of partsis such that when the shoulders engage the lugs and move the disks, thema nipulation may continue until the notches or recesses in the inneredges of the rings 34 and 35 aline to receive the bolt. Therethe rings39 and may be moved independently of the rings 31 and so that one maynot be able to know the combination which effected the release of thelocking mechanism.

Externally of the flange of the base plate, there are graduations 15 forone ring and graduations 4.6 for the other ring. Combined handles andindicators 47 and 18 are attached to the rings 39 and 40 respectivelyand it may be determined in advance what graduations these pointers orindicators must cover to effect the release of the bolt, but after theparts have been set to release the locking bolt, the indicators may, asstated, be moved interdependently of the disk of the rings 34 and 35 sothat unauthorized persons may not be able to know the combination whicheffected the release of the locking belt. I

In operation, it will be observed that if the operator desired torelease the locking bolt, he would move the indicators 17 and 18 to somepredetermined number, so that the recess in the rings 34 and 35 wouldaline and then move the indicator 27 to a predetermined number so thatthe notch in the disk or wheel 29 would aline with the notches of therings and thereafter the locking bolt may be withdrawn by manipulatingthe handle of the lever 23. To lock the devices again, the bolt 20 wouldbe forced into one of the recesses 33 of the collar 31 and thepermutation rings would be moved out of alinement with each other andthe disk 29 would like wise be rotated so that all of the parts wouldrequire resetting before the locking bolt could again be removed fromthe notch of the collar 31.

V The inner edges of the rings 34 and 35 have recesses withbeveledsurfac'es as shown at 19 which are intended to be engaged by theV-shaped nose of the locking bolt, so that if the locking bolt is movedoutwardly in an attempt'to feel the recesses in the permutation rings,said rings cannot be further rotated owing to the fact that the lockingbolt will engage the shoulders of the recesses in the edges of therings.

The hereinbefore described locking device for the steering posts and thesteering wheel of automobiles is placed on the market as an improvedarticle of manufacture, and as such it includes a short or stub shaftwhich is provided at its upper end with means for attaching thereto thesteering wheel, this short or stub shaft 15 has fixedly attached theretoa collar provided with peripheral notches or recesses, the thickness ofthe collar being substantially equal to the distance between theunderside of the face plate and the upper surface of the cover plate forthe internal gear case within which is housed an intermediate portion ofthe stub shaft having a drive pinion, with which meshes planetarypinions such pinions or reduction gears meshing with the teeth in theinternal gear case.

The base plate 11 and the face plate 13 are each provided with marks andnumerals or letters, the rings 39 and 40 each have pointers which alsoserve as means for turning the rings, so that shoulders formed byremoving a portion on the inner side of the rings may engage with lugsto move the two permutation disks to position the internal notchesthereof in alinement with the spaces between the segments, which arefix; edly attached to the cover and face plates, by bolts ashereinbefore set forth The upper or face plate has therethrough anaperture for the-passage of a stud attachedto or formed on a notched orrecessed disk 29 and to the stud is attached a pointer which may bemoved by hand to turn the disk and place its notch in register with thebolt or to hold the bolt in positive engagement With the notched collaron the shaft 15. It will be noted that the pointer not only serves itspurpose as an indicator but as a knob used to turn the notched disk sothat the bolt may be shot when the several notches in the permutationdisks are in register, and when the bolt controlling notches of theseveral members are in register with the bolt the lever is moved toproject or retract the bolt. The lever which is connected to the bolthas at its free end a knob and opposite or beneath the same a projectionto engage restraining recesses in the face plate. 1

In the device described movement of one of the permutation disks or ofthe notched disk 29 will lock the bolt after it has been shot to lockthe steering rod of the automobile and movement of either one of thepermutation rings will hold the bolt in retracted position.

Either one or more of the permutation rings or the spacing segment mayhave a serrated edge or margin that conforms to the outer end of thebolt, for the purpose of providing an unbroken surface when the bolt hasbeen shot to locking position which will render it diflicult to set thepermutation disks by touch and sound or the feel in manipulating thedisks when the bolt has been shot to locking position.

We claim:

1. In a permutation lock, a member adapted to be attached to a steeringshaft of an automobile and having notches therein, a member stationarywith relation to the first-mentioned member, a bolt slidable withrelation to the-members and held against rotary movement by thesecond-mentioned member and adapted to enter the recesses in thefirst-mentioned member, permutation rings rotatable about thesecond-mentioned member and having recesses adapted to aline to providea clearance for the bolt, rings embracing the first-mentioned rings,means for communicating motion of the secondmentioned rings to thefirst-mentioned rings, manipulated. devices on the second-mentionedrings whereby they are moved, and indicators for denoting the degree ofmovement of the said rings.

2. In combination with a permutation locking device for the steeringWheel assemblage of motor vehicles which have a housing for planetarygears and a'shaft that is engaged thereby, of a cover for the housingwhich serves as a base plate for the permutation lock, anotched diskwhich is fixedly attached to the shaft, a face plate, a spacingsegmentattached to the'base plate and to the face plate, permutation disks eachhaving an internal recess, rings for en gagement with the permutationdisks the rings having means for manually moving the same, a recesseddisk carried by the face plate and provided with manually operated meansfor moving the disk, a bolt located between the ends of the spacingsegment, and means attached to the face plate for sliding the bolt.

3. In a permutation look, a notched collar, means for securing thecollar to a steering shaft of an automobile, a ring stationary withrelation to the collar and embracing the same, a bolt engaging the ringand adapted to enter a notch of the collar, rings rotatable about thefirst-mentioned ring and each having a notch adapted to aline With thenotch of the other ring to provide a clearance for the movement of thebolt to release the collar, the said rings having recesses in theirinner edges forming shoulders adapted to be engaged by the bolt to holdthe rings against movement under certain conditions, and means forrotating the rings when free of the bolt.

4. In a permutation look, a notched collar adapted to be secured to asteering shaft of an automobile, a ring embracing the said collar, meansfor securing the rings stationary with relation to the collar, a lockingbolt slidably engaging the ring and adapted to enter the notches of thecollar, permutation rings surrounding the first-mentioned ring and eachhaving a notch, the notches being adapted to register to create aclearance for the bolt, means for rotating the rings, a disk having anotch adapted to aline with the notches of the rings, means forrotatably mounting the disk in operative relation to the rings, anindicator for controlling the disk, rings rotatably mounted about thefirstmentioned rings, means for communicating the motion of the outerrings to the inner rings, means for permitting independent movement ofthe outer rings with respect to the inner rings for a predetermineddegree, indicators on the said outer rings, and graduated scales withrelation to which the indicators are movable.

5. A permutation lock for the shaft of a steering wheel comprising abase plate hav ing marginal indicia, a face plate having marginalindicia, a spacing segment, a notched collar attached to a shaft andpositioned within the spacing segment, a shaft that engages the steeringrod and to which -the steering wheel is attached, a bolt which isassociated With means attached to the face plate whereby said bolt maybe moved to and from the notched collar by manual actuation of suchmeans. permutation disks which surround the spacing segment said diskshaving bolt receiving recesses and peripherally extending lugs, ringshaving shoulders for engagement with the lugs, and pointers which serveas means for manually 10 moving the rings.

FRED STAGGS. MARION REYNOLDS

